Tom's Favourite Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Fluffy pancakes studded with melty chocolate chips, with a pinch of cinnamon that pushes the batter into churro territory. This is breakfast-as-dessert territory, but it’s also a quick, weekend-morning standard that beats anything from a box mix.

The cinnamon is the secret. A quarter teaspoon doesn’t read as cinnamon on its own, but it warms up the chocolate the same way it does in Mexican hot chocolate. Without it, the pancakes are flat in flavor.

Fold the chips in last, by hand, after the batter is mixed. Stirring them in too early sends them sinking to the bottom of the bowl, and the heat of the mixing process can soften them into smears.

The doneness cue is bubbles covering the top and edges looking dry. Flip earlier and the centers stay raw; later and you get a tough crust. Each side should only take about a minute on a properly preheated griddle.

Pro Tips

• Don’t overmix the batter. A few lumps are fine. Overworking develops gluten and turns pancakes rubbery.
• Use a medium-low griddle, around 350°F (175°C). Higher and the chips scorch on the griddle surface.
• Sprinkle the chips on top of each pancake after pouring, not in the batter, if you want to control distribution and avoid burnt-chip residue on the griddle.
• Keep cooked pancakes warm in a 200°F (95°C) oven on a wire rack so the bottoms don’t go soggy.

Variations

• Use buttermilk instead of regular milk and reduce baking powder to 2 teaspoons for tangier, even fluffier pancakes.
• Swap chocolate chips for blueberries, sliced banana, or chopped pecans.
• Stir 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder into the dry mix for double chocolate pancakes.